Private Office & Families
Annual Tax & Strategy Debriefing
Our family and business group clients typically benefit from our comprehensive client reporting available upon completion of annual tax and compliance work. Our increased contact with clients, and exposure to their finances during our annual engagement, gives us the ability to add value by identifying issues and opportunities that become evident and which may warrant further action. Such insight is highly valuable to clients whilst being easily achievable by leveraging a moderate amount of extra effort at the completion of this work. In our experience, this type of value add to clients is a rarity in our industry given its preoccupation with commoditising and outsourcing work, along with scope limitation imposed by the trend toward fixed pricing.
Our annual compliance workflows include very comprehensive checklists covering a wide range of issues ordinarily outside of the scope of what is legally required. These include:
- Outlining known future tax inflows and outflows
- Potential danger areas under our very complicated tax system
- Opportunities to take advantage of tax concessions and deductions
- Basic business performance metrics
- Basic investment performance metrics and benchmarking
- Comparison to ATO benchmarking used for triggering tax audits
- Optimisation of recording, storage and transfer of financial data
- Opportunities to simplify and create efficiencies with software
- Adequacy of substantiation for tax deductions
- Adequacy and quality of documentation of structures and relationships
- Adequacy of internal controls and data security
- Availability of government assistance and concessions
- Identifying issues and opportunities in relation to:
- Asset protection
- Estate planning
- Succession planning
- Retirement planning
- Restructuring business and investment entities
- Financing
- Government assistance and concessions
Financial Advice Facilitation
Whilst we are not permitted to advise you in relation to specific financial products, we are completely independent and can assist you to find the right adviser and receive the scope of advice that you need.
Over many years we have dealt with a wide range of financial advisers on behalf of our clients. The quality and scope of advice available varies immensely. In addition, it is important that there is a good match in personality type and values between adviser and client. We have a panel of tried and tested advisors or can work with the one you nominate.
As your accountant we can provide very valuable input in the development and execution of your financial strategy on matters such as:
- Tax settings and planning
- Estate planning
- Operating and Investment Structures
- Investment administration, bookkeeping, and document management
- Investment monitoring
Investment / Transaction Due Diligence
Significant investments and major life transactions can be stressful, particularly where there is uncertainty about the independence and reliability of those you are dealing with. In addition, transactions like these raise important considerations including federal and state taxes, documentation and administration, and future planning.
We encourage our clients to consult us in these circumstances whether on an off the cuff basis or for more comprehensive advice or assistance with due diligence or specialist referral.
Investment Portfolio Administration
Investors have a range of options in terms of the platform they use to hold their investments. These could range from a full-service wrap account to a self-operated on-line share trading account. These products come with various levels of investment autonomy and administration requirement for the user.
We can explain the differences in these arrangements from an administration point of view and get you set up to manage the documentation and track your investments as efficiently as possible.
The services we offer include:
- Physical or electronic mailbox
- Portfolio administration and reporting using Sharesight, StockLight, or Class
- CGT Cost Base recording and calculation of realised and unrealised gains
- Document management for contract notes, distributions, and restructures
- Preparation and reconciliation of taxation data
- Assisting you to benchmark the performance of your portfolio
Investment Portfolio Performance Analysis
Investors are usually keen to know how their investments are performing overall and with reference to the market, other investment managers, and other asset classes. Information provided by investment advisers can be confusing and sometimes deliberately so. In assessing their own performance in asset selection or portfolio management, advisers have a potential conflict of interest and could be hesitant to report bad outcomes.
We can assist you to optimise the information available from your adviser and or investment platform and interpret that information.
As part of our annual service, we calculate an Internal Rate of Return on your portfolio which can be compared to a range of investment benchmarks we maintain for various asset classes. These can assist you to have a good feel for how your investments are performing and the impact of your asset allocation.
Administrative Support & Mailbox
Our Private Office function has evolved over the years. We have found that we are often able to provide assistance, especially to the elderly, for the administration of their investments and household finances. Our experience is that our elderly self-funded retiree clients wish to preserve financial independence, do not want to burden their busy children, or wish to avoid potential family squabbles.
In these situations, we can assist in streamlining or automating financial paperwork, banking and bill paying. Our office can provide physical or virtual mailbox arrangements to support this.
Year End Planning
There are an increasing number of administrative tasks and opportunities focused on financial year end. Whilst planning for these is a year-round process our Year End Planning workflows bring it all together in the months approaching June 30. This is when there is a clearer picture of financial outcomes during the year and better knowledge about changes to the rules which are often announced without any details.
Basic year end processes such as documenting distributions from companies or trusts, or ensuring SMSF pension requirements are met, are automatic. In addition to that family or business groups can opt for a more comprehensive checklist driven year end process.
Estate Planning
There are a lot of factors that can interfere with the way you think your estate will be distributed. There are complications in dealing with companies, trusts, and superannuation funds whose assets do not necessarily form part of your estate. Blended families require special considerations and safeguards, and it can be wrong to assume that siblings and spouses will necessarily co-operate with each other when you are gone or lose capacity.
Taxation outcomes upon death, during the administration of the estate, and into the future in the hands of the beneficiaries can be profoundly different depending on how your affairs are structured and your will is drafted. Some of the key considerations we can help you work through include:
- What is in your willable estate? Many people are surprised at what is excluded.
- How best to protect your assets and achieve what you want for your beneficiaries.
- Understanding taxation consequences and ways to improve outcomes and flexibility for your beneficiaries.
- Understanding and simplifying the estate administration process.
Estate planning and will making is a specialist area of law. We regularly interact with leading estate law practitioners and can recommend a suitable fit for you from our panel of specialists and help guide the process.
Estate Administration
Relatives and trusted associates are almost always charged with the often complicated and sometimes controversial task of administering an estate. This process is often hampered by an overlay of emotions and issues that come to the surface often unexpectedly. There are numerous processes to go through and things to check off as part of the estate administration process. Engaging with independent professionals and ensuring that the process is properly executed and well documented can help to neutralise some of the emotions and provide executors a better framework to deal with their often-considerable responsibilities.
Over the years we have gained invaluable experience in estate administration and have developed comprehensive procedures and checklists and a valuable network of legal resources to draw on.
